Constitution Committee to question former Lord Chief Justices
30 November 2011
As part of their inquiry into the judicial appointments process the House of Lords Constitution Committee will this week hear from Lord Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales, and Lord Carswell, former Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland. The Committee will then take evidence from Baroness Prashar, former Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
- Parliament TV: The Judicial Appointments Process,
- Inquiry: The Judicial Appointments Process
- Constitution Committee
Witnesses
At 10.15am, Wednesday 30 November, Committee Room 1, Palace of Westminster
- Lord Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales
- Lord Carswell, former Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland
At 11.15am
- Baroness Prashar, former Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission
The Committee will ask Lord Woolf and Lord Carswell whether the current appointments system is transparent and clear. They will question the witnesses on issues such as:
- whether Parliament should have a formal role in the appointments process by, for example, holding a pre-appointment committee session with judicial candidates
- whether the Lord Chancellor and/or parliamentarians should be represented on the panel that appoints judges to the Supreme Court
- how the performance of judges once appointed should be assessed
The Committee will then hear from Baroness Prashar, former Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and will question her on the role of the Commission since its creation in 2006, whether the appointments system is sufficiently open and transparent and what progress the JAC has made in increasing diversity within the judiciary.
The evidence session with Lord Woolf and Carswell will start at 10:15am on Wednesday 30 November. The session with Baroness Prashar will follow at around 11.15am. Both sessions will be held in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords.